Shah Rukh pays for treatment of two Kashmiri orphans

Mumbai, Jan 20 (IANS) Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has committed to bear all the expenses for the treatment of two Kashmiri orphan children who suffered severe burns during a terrorist grenade attack in Srinagar, doctors said Tuesday.”He has made it clear - ‘no limits’ - to the expenses for treating Mudassar and Amina,” Ali Irani, the head of department, physiotheraphy & sports medicine at Nanavati Hospital, Vile Parle, told IANS.

A little over two months ago, the home of the two kids in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar was attacked by terrorists. Mudassar and Amina’s parents were killed in the grenade attack, while the children suffered burn injuries.

The children suffered some grenade shrapnel injuries and severe - more than 30 percent - burn injuries and they were shifted to a local hospital in Srinagar, Irani, a physiotherapist, said.

When Irani visited the hospital under the auspices of the Indian Association of Physiotherapists, his attention was drawn to their plight.

In turn, Irani suggested that they could be shifted to Mumbai for getting the best treatment, at the Nanavati Hospital - where the children were brought to in December.

Although it would have been easy to get completely free treatment from any doctors, there would be many other expenses of the children to be handled, and Irani requested Shah Rukh Khan for help.

Not only did Shah Rukh readily agree to the suggestion but he also visited the two orphans at the hospital and has promised to take them to his home in Bandra to play with his children, Aryan and Suhana.

“Mudassar suffered severe burns on his face, while Amina’s arms and hand have been burnt - but there will not be permanent damage,” Irani said.

The two children have already undergone four surgeries which were performed by Atul Shah and L. Dhami - “We don’t know how many more surgeries they will required or when they can be discharged,” Irani said.

This is not the first time that 44-year-old actor has contributed to a noble cause - according to Irani, he has been doing it for nearly the past nine years.

“He has requested that this must be kept completely confidential, but the information somehow leaked out. There is no count of the number of children that he has helped so far,” Irani said.

A few years ago, Shah Rukh had donated Rs.5 million (Rs.50 lakhs) to the children’s ward of the hospital in memory of his mother, Lateef Fatima Khan, who died 18 years ago.